Duel Brewing ABQ

Perfect location for chilling with friends and discussing great beer! Employees were extremely knowledgable about all beers, and passionate about their craft! Don’t miss this place!

It’s about time a brewery of this size opened downtown. For a long time, there haven’t been many options in the immediate downtown area, so I was excited to hear that Duel was opening up a HUGE taproom.
And it really is huge. There’s a lighted sign outside that shows their location, but otherwise it’s a little easy to miss. There’s not signage on the door at this time, but don’t you fret, you are walking into the right place. The interior is interesting; it looks like an old theater! They kept a lot of theater like chairs around the place and there’s even curtains on one of the walls with interesting theater artwork. At first glance, it looks like there’s only bar seating, but walk behind the big walls in the middle, there’s a lot more seating behind them.
Alright, on to the beer. I didn’t get a chance to try a lot of house beers (there’s no flight option yet, really hoping this is coming soon). However, they do offer free samples and everything I tasted was good. They also offer a bunch of guest taps, such as Marble, Red Door and others. Service was spot on and everyone was very friendly.
Visiting a new business in the first week their open usually shows some challenges, but Duel did a fantastic job! Can’t wait to stop back soon to see how this business evolves.

This right here is a fine example of what I call the FTR jones.
First To Review. Quite honestly, I think the obsession is precisely the sort of thing I rail on and on about hating in this social media age, the whole Hey, look at me, I’m cleaning my toilet and posting it on Facebook, isn’t that interesting? But here I am, saying Hey, look at me, I drank beer at this new tap room and I’m the first person in the whole city to waste your time blathering about it on Unilocal,isn’t that cool? That’s essentially the FTR jones. I did it before you did, nah nah na nah nah.
But there is an ulterior motive to this FTR, promise: Duel is here, thank you Lawd! Salvation. And it’s up to each and every one of us beer lovin’ Burqueños to get over and support the place. The venue is enormous; the bottom floor can host 300 people, and word has it that the second floor will open by summer, with similar capacity. The décor is tasteful, sparse and inviting, and I can’t help but wonder if this may be one of several new businesses that sparks a downtown renaissance. They’re currently investigating serving food in-​house, as well, and a grand opening is scheduled for early February, but in the meantime, please get your arse over there and try the beer. That’s the only thing that really matters anyway, right?
For me, Belgian-​inspired beer really, really matters. In the land of the IPA, me thinks we (as in America at large) really missed the boat on arguably the most storied beer on the planet, save our minor infatuation with Sours. I heart Belgian beer. Simple as that. And Duel may not be perfect, they may get too experimental, or ornamental, in their exploration of the art, but they’re on the right track. The variety of styles and seasonals on tap are bound to win over hop heads and amateurs alike, and beer snobs like myself can find more than enough to sniff and swirl. They also feature plenty of local brews, if Belgian ain’t your thang. But you should make it your thang.
Nah nah na nah nah.